Cup guiding device



1951 R. E. PARKS 7 CUP GUIDING DEVICE Filed Feb. 19, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheetl INVENTOR. Ree/s E. PARKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ill 3/ INVENTOR. REG/S E,PARKS ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 16, 1951 R. E. PARKS CUP GUIDING DEVICE Filed Feb. 19, 1948 Oct.16, 1951 R. E. PARKS CUP GUIDING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 19,1948 JNVENTOR. Rea/s E. PAR/(S 7% @MW 2% I ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNE'EE S'i'i ATT QEEECE CU? GUIDING DEVICE ofDelaware Application February 19, 1948, Serial No. 9,561

, 7 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a device for guiding the fallingmovement of a cup, or a cup drop, and is particularly adaptable to usein an automatic drink vending machine wherein a paper cup is droppedinto a position accessible to the customer upon the insertion of a coinand is thereafter filled with the beverage.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in parthereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned bypractice with the invention, the same being realized and attained bymeans of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in theappended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements,combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting aparthereof, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and together with thedescription, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a cup drop embodying the present inventionshown in its relationship to the cabinet and certain other mechanism ofthe automatic drink vending machine, said cabinet being shown in crosssection and broken away;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cup drop shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3' is a vertical cross-sectional view taken through the centralportion of the cup drop shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3';

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional View taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of a modifiedembodiment of the cup drop of the invention; and,

Fig. '7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line L-l of Fig. 6

The present invention has for an object the provision of an improveddevice for guiding the drop of a cup. Another object isthe provision ofa cup guide or drop which will surely and uniformly guide the fallingmotion of a cup from a higher to a lower place and position the cup,when it has completed its fall, in an upright position. The invention isparticularly adapted to use with an automatic beverage vending machine,and provides a reliable device for guiding the fall of a paper cup froma cup dispensing mechanism downwardly to a position of rest under afaucet where it may be filled with a beverage at a place available to acustomer. The

invention further provides a means for guiding the downward, inclinedfall of an upright cup, maintaining said cup upright at all positions offall and. final rest, preventing tilting or overturning of the cup atany time.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative emsediments of the inventionshown by way of example in the accompanying drawings, the cup guidingdevice is shown in Fig. 1 as installed in an automatic drink vendingmachine wherein it is the front wall of the cabinet or casing, H is anaperture therein through which the custozner has access to the filledcup, and I2 is a transparent door which is preferably provided inaperture H and may be lifted to reach the cup. Such vending machines areprovided with a drink dispensing faucet i3 and a paper cup supply Hifrom which cups are separated and dropped individually by means of cupdispensing mechanism indicated generally by the numeral [5. As isclearly apparent in Fig. 1 of the drawings, it is necessary to providemeans for guiding the upright cup after it is separated and released bythe mechanism 45 in its downward and forward-tall so that. it will cometo rest upright under the faucet l 3.

The cup guide or drop of the invention is preierably formed as anassembled unit which may be removably secured in position within thevending machine cabinet. In the illustration shown av horizontal braceor bracket 15. is provided for supporting other mechanism such as theelements I and lb, and also has a pair of depending plates ll havingslots I8 whereby the cup drop unit may be secured by means of wing nutsl9.

The cup drop unit itself comprises a vertically arranged chute having anupper opening 23 (Fig- 2'), said chute being defined by a rear wall 2!,a front wall 22, and side walls 23 and 24, said walls being formed,illustratively, of sheet metal. The further enclosure of the cup dropcomprises lower skirt'portions 25- which extend frern turned andstrengthened frontedges '26 rearwardly and are curved to abut respectiveones of the side walls 23 and 24. A bottom piece 2'! is providedcentrally depressed and formed as a sump to discharge overflow ordripped liquid through a waste pipe 28. The framework and casing of thecupdrop unit is completed by a front, inclined baflle plate 29' which issecured to upwardly extending triangular portions 39 of skirt elements25,. and is formed integrally with 3 horizontally disposed walls 3|abutting the top edges of skirts 25, and the chute side walls 23 and 24.

In order to carry the cup forwardly to the desired point beneath thefaucet l3 during the latter part of its fall, the chute defined by thewalls 2|, 22, 23 and 24 is formed to engage and guide the cup,maintaining it in an upright position at all times and preventingforward or backward or sidewise tilting. In order to fulfill thisfunction the rear wall 2| is turned at its lower extent providing aninclined plane portion 35, as best shown in Fig. 3, said portionpreferably having an angle of about 45 from the horizontal. The sidewalls 23 and 24 are turned substantially above their lower edges so asto provide on each a shoulder 36. These shoulders also are inclined atan angle to make them substantially parallel with the inclined bottomwall portion 35, about 45 in the example shown. The shoulders 36 andwall 35 are so spaced that the cup of the size to be used, when it hascompleted its vertical fall and contacts at a rear point on its bottomrim the wall 35, will contact at its turned upper periphery theshoulders 38 at points opposite to each other and displacedsubstantially 90 from the point of the bottom engaging wall 35 (Fig. 3).Thus a cup 31 such as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 in its fallingposition is retained in an upright position as it engages and moves downthe wall 35 and its turned upper periphery 38 rides at two places on theshoulders 36.

The wall 35 and shoulders 36 are preferably polished to afford as littlefriction as possible to the cup, and it will be apparent that the cup ispositively guided downwardly and forwardly in the same upright positionit had in its initial, free fall. The front wall 22 is provided with acurved lower edge 40 forming an opening for egress of the cup from thechute, and the curve is so plotted that the forward part of theperiphery 38 of the cup is, at all positions of its descent down thewall 35 and shoulder 36 in a vertical position, just out of contact withsaid curved edge. Thus, a slight forward tilt of the cup would result inits engagement at its periphery 38 at two points with the edge '40. Thecup would therefore either be returned to its vertical position tocontinue its fall out of contact with edge 40, or would continue itsfall in contact with edge 40 guided in a substantially verticalposition.

A removable grill 4! is provided as a platform for the delivered cupunder the faucet l3, and said platform is slightly backwardly tilted byinclining the forward ends 42 of the bars thereof so that the rearwardextents 43 of said bars will have a gentle slope. The extents 43 of saidbars may have an inclination of 4 or from the horizontal, for instance,so that any tendency of the cup delivered out of the chute to topplefrontwards will be overcome.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of thedrawings the construction of the cup drop is generally similar to thatalready described for the first embodiment, except that a pair ofparallel bars 45 are secured to the inclined wall portion 35 serving asguide members to be engaged by the bottom of the cup. The falling cup inthis embodiment therefore is guided at four points, two spaced about theperiphery of the bottom and two spaced about the periphery of the top onthe shoulders 38, whereas in the earlier embodiment the cup has a singlecontact point on the wall portion 35.

The embodiment of Figs. 6 and '7 likewise illustrates the use of arms 48which may be formed as integral extensions at the lower forward cornersof side walls 23 and 24 of the chute. Said arms 46 are arranged to lieclosely adjacent the upper rim 38 of the cup when the latter has beendelivered and is resting on the grill 4|, preventing side tippingwhether caused by the momentum of the cup or the clumsy handling thereofby a customer.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specificmechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom,within the scope of the accompanying claims, without departing from theprinciples of the invention and without sacrificing its chiefadvantages.

What I claim is:

1. A cup guiding device comprising, in combination, a vertical chutehaving front and side walls, an inclined bottom wall to be engaged bythe bottom edge of a cup falling through said chute, and

a shoulder on each said side wall extending into the chute, parallel tosaid bottom wall, and adapted to engage a cup sliding down said bottomwall adjacent the upper edge thereof and maintain it vertical, saidfront wall having a curved lower edge plotted to lie closely adjacentthe upper edge of a cup throughout its travel as it slides downwardlyalong said bottom wall and shoulders.

2. A guiding device, for association with a vertical chute at itsdischarge end thereof and in vertical alignment therewith, for a cuphaving an enlarged upper peripheral ring comprising, in combination, aninclined surface to be at the discharge end of the chute to be engagedonly by the rear bottom edge portion of the cup, and a pair of spacedsurfaces substantially parallel to and spaced above said first surfaceto be engaged by the cup at said peripheral ring, said spaced surfacesbeing of a length suflicient to extend over the length of the dischargeopening of the chute.

3. A guiding device in accordance with claim 2 wherein the inclinedsurface below the parallel surfaces is a pair of spaced surfacesparallel to one another to engage the bottom rear half of the cup.

4. A guiding device in accordance with claim 2 wherein a pair of spacedarms are secured to the spaced surfaces and positioned to lie closelyadjacent either side of the top edge of a cup when the cup hassubstantially cleared the spaced parallel surfaces.

5. A cup guiding device comprising, in combination, a vertical cupdischarging chute, a pair of inclined, parallel surfaces spaced alongthe lateral length of said chute to engage a cup falling through saidchute along its top side edges thereof, and a second inclined surfacebelow said parallel surfaces and parallel thereto to engage only therear bottom edge portion of the cup when falling through said chutewhereby the cup will be maintained in an upright position at all times.

6. A cup guiding device in accordance with claim 5 wherein the frontwall of the chute has a curved lower edge plotted to lie closelyadjacent the upper edge of a cup throughout its travel as it slidesdownwardly along said inclined surfaces.

'7. A guiding device for a cup having an enlarged upper peripheral ringcomprising, in combination, a vertical chute, an inclined surfacesecured to the back wall of the chute, said inclined surface engagingthe rear bottom edge portion the cup along each side top portion of saidcup 5 whereby the cup will slide downwardly and outwardly in an uprightposition during its entire passage.

REGIS E. PARKS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Morris June 18, 1901 StandishMar. 4, 1911 Love Aug. 5, 1924 Freedman May 14, 1929 Skreta Aug. 4, 1936Mills Oct. 5,-1937 Nicholson June 15, 1943

